In Bengaluru’s KR Market, Town Hall and near KIMS, smart signal modules – Vehicle Activity Control (VAC) – have been designed to adapt to real-time traffic situations.
Bengaluru is infamous for its never-ending and frustrating traffic. For better traffic management, the city police have decided to upgrade their signals to something more effective that will improve better movement of vehicles. Now, instead of standing on the congested road for long hours waiting for the signal to turn green. Now, Bengaluru has opted for smart signals powered by AI.
In Bengaluru’s KR Market, Town Hall and near KIMS, smart signals called Vehicle Activity Control (VAC) modules have been designed to adapt to real-time traffic situations. So, instead of the pre-set timers that would change the signal, now AI Cameras have been installed at each signal to track vehicle activity.
How does this module work?
If one road has more vehicles in comparison to others, then the signal will turn green to disperse congestion. At each signal, a control box will be installed, allowing for automatic operation and manual control as well as traffic police whenever needed. These signals will analyse real-time traffic data, adjust the signal timing automatically and improve the flow of traffic. This will reduce the waiting time for commuters.
Reportedly, these signals are intelligent systems that will automatically gauge traffic flow. The pre-set traffic signals cannot adapt to real-time traffic which causes delays and congestion. Hence, these signals are being installed along Mysuru Road, Magadi Road, West of Chord Road, Kanakapura Road, Hosur Road, Tumakuru Road, Bannerghatta Road, RV Road and Bellary Road to name a few.
The Bengaluru Traffic Police proposed the installation of adaptive signals at 50 locations in 2022. The Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) anticipates that the average queue lengths after the implementation of these smart signals will reduce. As per reports, the project was funded by a grant from the Government of Japan but got delayed due to the pandemic and it was resumed after an agreement was signed on June 30, 2021.
